Columns

By Mohammed El Soukkary 01/10/2015

ODDS ARE, YOU’LL BE HIT BY A CAR…

Now substitute ‘hit by a car’ with ‘diagnosed with breast cancer’

Statistically, one in eight of our female readers will be hit by a car when crossing the street in one hour’s time. Do I have your attention? One in eight. Those numbers are cause for concern, aren’t they?
What if I then told you that there was a way to find out whether or not you would be the one to be hit by the car? Would I have your interest then? And what if, hypothetically, I could not only tell you how to find out whether or not you were the one who was going to be struck by the car, but that I could also tell you precisely what to do to avoid any lasting damage? Would I have your attention then?
What if I further told you that if you that the earlier you found out that you were going to be struck by a car, and prepared accordingly, that your survival rate would be 100%? Would that motivate you to research further?
What about if I directed you to readily available resources that would tell you everything you needed to know about cars that could hit you, about the kind of damage the accident would cause, and what you could do to prevent it. What if all those materials were available at the click of a button? Would you click it before getting up? After all the odds are one in eight that in one hour a car will hit you.
Even if you knew for sure that you were not at risk, would you take the time to warn your friends? I mean, it’s no joke. Getting hit by a car is serious business, and could land you or your friends in the hospital, or worse.
Now consider this. If you or your friend were hit by a car, would it be your fault? Could you possibly be blamed for it? Would any reasonable human being state that there is a stigma associated with being hit by a car, and that they therefore can no longer be in a relationship with you? Would you really want to be with a person that leaves you at the first sign of trouble? Is it in any way acceptable for there to be a stigma associated with being hit by a car? Would you find it acceptable to suffer in silence after being struck by a car, and keeping your injuries hidden in order to appease those around you? Wouldn’t you feel better if you had a support network? Or if you could be part of a support network for another victim of a car accident?
Would it not be better, and safer for everyone is we could discuss car accident prevention in public, without worry about any stigma borne of ignorance? Would it not be safer for everyone if we could share tips on how to avoid being hit by a car? And if we were to be hit, to share tips on how to deal with the aftermath? To provide mutual support to each other?
I mean, it is easy to prevent being hit by a car. There are warnings and indicators, there are signs before it happens, and there are now plans and steps to use to minimize the risk and manage any fallout should the event actually happening, and actually ensure that the survival rate can reach 100%. There is no reason as to why this issue is not being tackled on a widespread, societal scale in order to prevent any unnecessary suffering and undue risks for the sake of nothing tangible.
Now substitute the words ‘hit by a car’ with ‘diagnosed with breast cancer.’